Airlines call for accountability over Boeing’s quality problems
US airline CEs expressed frustration over Boeing’s quality issues on Tuesday, as they revealed the extent of the cost impact and delivery delays from the fuselage blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month. “We’re going to hold them accountable. Boeing needs to get their act together,” American Airlines CE Robert Isom told analysts on Thursday. Boeing’s issues over the past number of years were “unacceptable”, he added. No matter who was leading the plane maker, he said, “all of Boeing needs to come together and to get back on the right track”. His comments follow strong words from bosses at rivals United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. “We’re going to hold Boeing’s feet to the fire to make sure that we get good aeroplanes out of that factory,” Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told analysts on Thursday. Alaska executives were having “tough, candid conversations” with Boeing’s leadership, he added, saying that what happened on the Max 9 “should never have happened at all” and was “not acceptable”. Shares in Boeing closed down 5.7% on Thursday after the FAA on Wednesday barred it from expanding output of its Max series, citing quality-control concerns. Its market value has fallen by about a fifth since the start of the year. On Thursday the company paused production at its plant in Renton, Washington, for 15 hours to discuss quality issues with more than 10,000 workers. Alaska on Thursday said it expected to take a $150mn hit to profits this year from the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet after the mid-air loss of a door plug on one of its flight from Oregon to California on January 5. Rivals Southwest and American, meanwhile, expect fewer Boeing aircraft to be delivered than planned this year as a result of the accident and the FAA ban on the aircraft maker expanding production.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-01-26/general/airlines-call-for-accountability-over-boeing2019s-quality-problems
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Airlines call for accountability over Boeing’s quality problems
US airline CEs expressed frustration over Boeing’s quality issues on Tuesday, as they revealed the extent of the cost impact and delivery delays from the fuselage blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this month. “We’re going to hold them accountable. Boeing needs to get their act together,” American Airlines CE Robert Isom told analysts on Thursday. Boeing’s issues over the past number of years were “unacceptable”, he added. No matter who was leading the plane maker, he said, “all of Boeing needs to come together and to get back on the right track”. His comments follow strong words from bosses at rivals United Airlines and Alaska Airlines. “We’re going to hold Boeing’s feet to the fire to make sure that we get good aeroplanes out of that factory,” Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told analysts on Thursday. Alaska executives were having “tough, candid conversations” with Boeing’s leadership, he added, saying that what happened on the Max 9 “should never have happened at all” and was “not acceptable”. Shares in Boeing closed down 5.7% on Thursday after the FAA on Wednesday barred it from expanding output of its Max series, citing quality-control concerns. Its market value has fallen by about a fifth since the start of the year. On Thursday the company paused production at its plant in Renton, Washington, for 15 hours to discuss quality issues with more than 10,000 workers. Alaska on Thursday said it expected to take a $150mn hit to profits this year from the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 9 fleet after the mid-air loss of a door plug on one of its flight from Oregon to California on January 5. Rivals Southwest and American, meanwhile, expect fewer Boeing aircraft to be delivered than planned this year as a result of the accident and the FAA ban on the aircraft maker expanding production.<br/>
